Monday, December 31, 2007

Alexander Morozevich Win Russian Superfinal 2007


Morozevich win the 2007 Russian Superfinal after winning his last game against Ernesto Inarkiev to collect 8 points from 11 rounds. His nearest rival Grischuk only managed to collect 7 points and finished second place after drawing his last round games against another top seeded peter Svidler who finished a disspointing 9th place. Morozevich triumph is a well deserved victory because he beat both top seeded Grischuk and Svidler.

Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich has been a top ten players for almost a decade. His aggressive and original play has won him the admiration of countless chess players and fans all over the world. Whenever his game were broadcast online, thousands of spectators will watch his game. He is also known as a giant killer because when inspired, can beat anybody such as Anand and Kramnik with black!

Morozevich is noted for employing unusual openings, Against the Queen's Gambit, for instance, he has often played the Chigorin Defence (1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6), and the Albin Countergambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5); both systems are hardly ever seen at the top level. He is also well known for preferring complicated rather than clear positions.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Round 10 : Russian Superfinal 2007

Alexander Morozevich only managed to draw his game against..Amonatov last night and he was being chased by Grishcuk who beat Rychagov to collect 6.5 points - 0.5 points less then Morozevich! .


Below is one of the game in round 9 ( women section )


Gunina,V (2359) - Kosintseva,T (2492) [E15]
57th ch-RUS w Moscow RUS (9), 28.12.2007

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Nc3 0–0 8.e4 d5 9.cxd5 Bxf1 10.Kxf1 exd5 11.e5 Ne4 12.Kg2 c5 13.Re1 Nc6 14.Qe2 f5 15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Rad1 Re8 17.Qd3 Nb4 18.Qb1 Nxd2 19.Rxd2 Qd7 20.Red1 Rac8 21.a3 Nc6 22.Ne2 c4 23.Nf4 Na5 24.Ne5 Qb7 25.bxc4 dxc4+ 26.f3 Nb3 27.Re2 Nxd4 28.Rxd4 Rxe5 29.Red2 c3 30.Rd7 Qa6 31.Rc2 Qxa3 32.Nd5 Rxd5 33.Rxd5 Qa4 34.Qd1 b5 35.Qe2 Rb8 36.Rc5 Qb3 37.Qe4 b4 38.Rc4 Rd8 39.Re2 a5 40.Qc6 Rf8?? Black has a strong connected passed pawns on a5, b4 and c3 but she was punished for not creating a luft with 40......h6 in his king side where the position would be a dynamic equal 41.Qe6+

41...Kh8 forced

42.Qf7 white is threatening bank rank mate! 42...Rg8 43.Re8 1–0


photo from Chess.Pro

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Benoni Defense and Benoni Sabah !


While browsing the internet I found an interesting article here about the origins of the word benoni. As we all know there is a chess openings called the Benoni defense but the interesting things is there is a place in Malaysia called Benoni. It is in Papar, Sabah!

The Benoni Defense is a group of chess openings generally characterized by the opening moves 1.d4 c5 2.d5 although Black's ...c5 and White's answer d5, is often delayed until move 2 or 3. The most usual opening sequence for the Benoni is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5. Black can then sacrifice a pawn by 3...b5 (leading to the Benko Gambit). If Black elects not to sacrifice then 3...d6, 3...e6 or 3...g6 are common moves, leading to the mainline Benonis.

There are many variations of the Benoni.

Source: Wikipedia

Here are the excerpt from Edwin winter article

.....4435. Benoni confusion

Before quoting a reader’s contribution, we supply the context by reproducing C.N. 2250.


Modern books record that the word Benoni comes from the Hebrew for ‘child/son of (my) sorrow/sadness’.

Page 318 of The Chess-Player’s Companion by Staunton implied that Benoni had been somebody’s name: ‘M. St Amant derived this somewhat bizarre defence from Benoni. (Benoni, oder [die] Vertheidigungen [gegen] die Gambitzüge im Schache, etc. Von Aaron Reinganum, Frankfort, 1825)’ was the note after 1 d4 c5 2 d5 f5. R. Rey Ardid was even more specific (about 1 d4 c5) on page 22 of Cien nuevas partidas de ajedrez (Saragossa, 1940): ‘An old, audacious defence which comes from the English player Benoni (1825)’. Presenting the game Petrosian v Schmid in his book L’intuition à l’affût, A. O’Kelly noted the Hebrew meaning but claimed that around the 1830s there were two brothers named Benoni who had regularly played the opening. O’Kelly further remarked that during a visit to South Africa he had been surprised to find a town named Benoni in the Johannesburg area. We add that there is also a place called Benoni in Malaysia......

Steven Seagel Versus Kirsan Ilyumzhinov!


Steven Seagal a famous Hollywood movie actor visited Elista, Republic of Kalmykia recently and played a games of chess with Kalmykia and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov .

Steven Seagal is an American action movie actor, producer, writer, director and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an aikido instructor in Japan, before moving to the Los Angeles, California area where, after being noticed by entertainment executives, he made his film debut in 1988. Since then, Seagal has become a globally recognized action star, with his movies earning more than $2 billion worldwide.

Source : Wikipedia


Seagel: Okay, we just finish your game (chess) how about we play my games next- martial arts?
Kirsan: eeehhhhh....no thanks :)

Round 9 Russian Sperfinal: Moro Lost to Old Timer - Alexey Dreev!

The sole leader of the Russian Superfinal GM Morozevich lost to "old timer" 38 years old GM Alexey Dreey (photo left) in the 9 round. After beating top seeded GM Svidler and Grischuk, Morozevich definitely confident to finish other underdogs in his remaining rounds but his 6 straight wins (from round 3) was stop by Dreev! Dreev a Caro Kann specialist beat Morozevich with black using the Sicilian Defense!!!

Moro: How come i lost to this OTAI (old timer)


Morozevich,A (2755) - Dreev,A (2607) [B56]
60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (9), 28.12.2007

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.f3

This is a little bit unusual in top GM games. Usually they choose the 6.Bg5 or 6.Bc4 6...e5 [Black can also choose 6...Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.Qe2 a6 9.Be3 Qc7] 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 0–0 9.Qd2 a5 10.Bb5 Be6 11.0–0 d5 [11...Na7 12.Be2 Nc6 13.Bb5 Na7 14.Be2 Nc8 If black want to avoid draw. 15.Bb5 Nb6 16.Qf2 Nc4 17.Bxc4 Bxc4 18.Rfd1 Qc8 19.Na4 Nd7 20.Nd2 Be6] 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Qxd5 Bxd5 15.Rfd1 (Dreev suggest 15. c4!? Be6 16.Nc5 Bxc5 17.Bxc5 Rfd8 as photo below) Bxb3 16.axb3 White has the pair of bishops 16...Nd4 17.Bd3 Bc5 18.Kf2 b6 19.Rac1 Rac8 20.Bc4 b5 21.Bd5 Rfd8 22.Bb7 Rb8 23.Be4 g6 Planning f5. 24.Ra1 f5 25.Bd3 Bb6 26.Ra2 Kg7 27.g3 b4 Black has a new backward pawn: a5 28.Re1

Dreev about to play 28...Rbc8

28...Rbc8 29.Bc4 f4 30.gxf4 exf4 31.Bxd4+ Rxd4 32.Kf1 Rd2 33.Re6?

This was the mistake. Moro lets Dreev rook dominated his second rank. [33.Re2!? and White could well hope to play on 33...Rxe2 34.Kxe2=] 33...Be3–+ 34.Rxa5 [34.Bd3 Rc5 Threatening Rf2+ and Rxf3.] 34...Rxc2 35.h4 Rd8 Black has a mate threat on d1! 36.Rd5 Ra8 Now threatening mate in two starting with... Ra1+ 37.Rd7+ Kh6 Black renewing his mate threat on a1. 38.Ba6 [Probably Moro didn’t want to be to defensive with 38.Be2!? but White actually can hope to live] 38...Rf2+–+ [38...Rxb2?! 39.Ree7 Rf2+ 40.Ke1] 39.Ke1 Rxb2 [39...Rxf3 Probably would be much better. Clearing the way for his passed f pawn . 40.Ree7 Rh8; 39...Rxf3 40.Ree7 Rh8 41.Bc4–+] 40.h5? [40.Ree7!? Attacking the h7 is better. 40...Rh8 41.Bc4 Bf2+ 42.Kd1 Bxh4 43.Rf7µ Creating a nasty trap 43...g5?? 44.Rf6+ Kh5 45.Bf7# mate.] 40...Rb1+ [40...Rxb3 might be the shorter path 41.hxg6 hxg6 42.Rd5–+] 41.Ke2? [41.Rd1 Rxd1+ 42.Kxd1 Kxh5 43.Ke2–+] 41...Rb2+ 42.Ke1 Rxb3 43.hxg6 hxg6 44.Rdd6 Rb1+ 45.Ke2 Rg1 46.Kd3 [46.Rd3 Rg2+ 47.Ke1 Ra7–+] 46...Rb8 47.Ke2 b3 48.Bd3 Exerts pressure on the backward pawn 48...Rg8 49.Re5 [49.Be4–+ the last chance for counter play] 49...Ra8 [49...Ra8 50.Ra6 Rd8 51.Rxe3 Rg2+ 52.Kf1 fxe3 53.Kxg2 Rxd3–+ Black passed pawns are to strong to handle.] 0–1

Round 8 Russian Superfinal ; Moro beat Svidler !

Alexander Morozevich extended his lead in round 8 by beating another top seed Peter Svidler. He just beat GM Grischuk in the previous round. This guys is really on top form!


Svidler,P (2732) - Morozevich,A (2755) [B90]

60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (8), 27.12.2007

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Nbd7 9.g4 Nb6 10.g5 Nh5 11.Qd2 Rc8 12.0–0–0 Be7 13.Kb1 0–0 14.Rg1 g6 In 2007 Mexico World Championship, Moro tries unsuccessfully with 14... Qc7 15.h4 Qc7 16.Rg2 a Novelty. Probably Svidler want to extra guard the c2 square and have a possibility to double his rook on g file later. But looking at the game progress it show no success because later this rook was attack by Nf4 and it have to move to g4. . The most popular continuation in this position is – 16. Qf2. 16... f6 17.Qf2 Nc4 18.Bxc4 Bxc4 19.Bb6 Qd7 20.Nc5 Qc6 21.Nd3

Morozevich considering his 21st move. Should I take the knight on d3 or not?

21...Bxd3 why not! 22.cxd3 Nf4 23.Rg4 fxg5 24.hxg5


Moro: You know, 24...d5 may be better then 24...Bxg5

The first critical moment. 24...Bxg5!? Moro later comment that he was to greedy eating pawns! (24...d5 breaking white center at once would probably be much better) 25.Rh1 Morozevich doesn’t have to worry about white attack on h file because he can always defend the vulnerable h7 square with move like ...Qd7 and Rf7 Ne6 26.Qh2 Qd7 27.Qh3 Rf7 28.Be3 According to the commentator in ChessPro. 28. Nd5 would be anybody games .Moro now delivered a beautiful sacrifice with at least will give him a drawn game by perpectual check.28... Rxc3 29.bxc3 Qb5+

30.Kc2 The second critical moment. Moro said that white could probaly force a draw with 30. Ka1 Bxe3 (30...Qxd3 31.Bxg5 Qxc3+ 32.Kb1 Qd3+ 33.Ka1 draw ( but not 33.Kc1 Rc7+ 34.Kb2 Nxg5 35.Rxg5 Rc2+ 36.Kb1 Rh2+ 37.Ka1 Qc3+ 38.Kb1 Qb2#checkmate) ) 31.Rxg6+ Kf8 (31...Rg7 32.Qxe6+; 31...Ng7 32.Qxh7+ Kf8 33.Qh8+ Ke7 34.Rxg7; 31...hxg6 32.Qh8#; 31...Kh8 32.Qxe6) 32.Qxe6 hxg6 33.Qxd6+ Kg7=] 30...Nd4+ 31.Bxd4 The only is 31.cxd4? just lost to 31... Rc7 32. Kd2 Qb4 33. Ke2 Rc2 34. Kf1 Qb1 31....exd4 32.c4?? the real culprit. Svidler blunder in this critical point. His idea is right but he should protect his vulnerable second rank with 32. Rg2! Qc5 33.c4! and should gave him equal chance. 32...Qa4+ 33.Kb1 Qb4+ 34.Ka1 Qc3+ 35.Kb1 Qxd3+ 36.Ka1 Qc3+ 37.Kb1 Qb4+ 38.Ka1 Bf6 0–1 White resign. On 39.e5 with hope to prolonged the game with 39... Bxe5 40.f4 can be avoided by the simple but effective 39... dxe5!


Photo from ChessPro

Thursday, December 27, 2007

2007 Russian Superfinal Round 7!

Sakaev,K (2634) - Timofeev,Arty (2637) 0-1
60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (7), 26.12.2007

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 Timofeev : You know, sometimes queen can move early in the opening stage!!!

7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Na6 9.Bd6 Qxg2 10.Qd2 Nf6 11.Bf3 Qg6 12.0–0–0 e5 13.Bxe5 Be6 14.Ne2 Qf5 15.Qe3 Nb4 16.Nd4 Nxa2+ 17.Kd2 0–0–0 18.Ke1 Rxd4 19.Rxd4 Nb4 20.Bd1 Re8 21.Rg1 Bxc4 22.f4 Nbd5 23.Rxd5 Nxd5 24.Qxa7 Rxe5+ 25.fxe5 Qxe5+ 26.Kf2 Qxh2+ 27.Rg2 Qh4+ 28.Rg3 Qf6+ 29.Bf3 Qxb2+ 30.Kg1 g6 31.Qa8+ Kd7 32.Rg4 Qb3 33.Bg2 Qb6+ 34.Kh2 Ne3 35.Re4 Be6 36.Bh3 Qb2+ 37.Kg3 Qb3 38.Bxe6+ fxe6 39.Qf8 Nf5+ 0–1




Tomashevsky,E (2646) - Svidler,P (2732) 1-0
60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (7), 26.12.2007

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Bc5 6.Bg2 0–0 7.0–0 d6

Tomashevsky: eeemmmm. How about 8.e3 a6 9.d3 Ba7 10.Bd2 Nxd5 11.cxd5 Ne7 12.Qb3 c6 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Bc3 Rb8 15.d4 e4 16.Nd2 d5 17.f3 exf3 18.Nxf3 Be6 19.Kh1 Re8 20.Rf2 b5 21.Bd2 Bf5 22.Raf1 Be4 23.Ne1 Rb7 24.Bxe4 Rxe4 25.Nd3 Rd7 26.a4


Svidler: Hey guys I’m planning to play 26....bxa4 you know! 27.Qxa4 Re6 28.Rc1 Rc7 29.Nf4 Rd6 30.Ba5 Nxa5 31.Rxc7 Bb6 32.Rc3 h6 33.Qc2 Qe8 34.Qf5 g6 35.Qd3 Kg7 36.Kg2 Nc6 37.Qe2 a5 38.Qf3 Ne7 39.Qg4 Kh7 40.Qf3 a4 41.g4 Rf6 42.Qh3 Kg7 43.Qg3 Ba5 44.Rc1 Rb6 45.Nd3 1–0


Inarkiev,E (2674) - Rychagov,A (2528) 1/2-1/2
60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (7), 26.12.2007

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0–0 10.0–0–0 a6 11.Kb1 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Qc7 13.Qe3 b5 14.Bd3 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 Qc5 16.Ne2 b4 17.Rc1 f6 18.exf6 Qxd4 19.Nxd4 Rxf6 20.Rhe1 Nc5 21.g3 a5 22.Re3 Ba6 23.Bxa6 Rxa6 24.c3 Ne4 25.cxb4 axb4 26.Re2 g5 27.fxg5 Nxg5 28.Rc6 Rf1+ 29.Kc2 Nf3 30.Rc8+ Kf7 31.Rc7+ Kf6 32.Nxf3 Rxf3 33.Rxh7 d4 34.Rh6+ Kf7 35.Re4 Rxa2 36.Rxd4 b3+ 37.Kc1 Kg7 38.Rhh4 e5 39.Rd7+ Kg6 40.Rhh7 Kf5 41.Rhf7+ Ke4 42.Rxf3 Kxf3 43.Rd3+ Kf2 44.Rxb3 e4 45.Rb6 e3 46.Rf6+ Ke1 47.Kc2 e2 48.g4 Ra4 49.g5 Rc4+ 50.Kb3 Rd4 51.Kc2 Rc4+


Inarkiev : I have too move my king from check. So...52.Kd3 Kd1 53.Re6 Rc8 54.g6 Rd8+ 55.Kc4 e1Q 56.Rxe1+ Kxe1 57.h4 Rh8 58.Kd5 Rxh4 59.Ke6 Rg4 60.Kf7 Kd2 61.g7 Kd3 62.g8Q Rxg8 63.Kxg8 Kc4 64.b4 Kxb4 65.Kf7 ½–½



Jakovenko,D (2710) - Amonatov,F (2637) 1-0
60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (7), 26.12.2007

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c6 5.Nf3 d5 6.0–0 0–0 7.Qb3 Qb6 8.Nc3 Qxb3 9.axb3 Bf5 10.Ne5 Rd8 11.Bf4 Nbd7 12.Nxd7 Rxd7 13.Be5 Rdd8 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 cxd5 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Rfc1 Rd7 18.Rc5 e6 19.f3 g5 20.Kf2 Rd6 21.e4 Bg6 22.exd5 exd5 23.Bf1 h6 24.b4 b6 25.Rc7 a5 26.b5 Re8 27.Re1 Rxe1 28.Kxe1 Bf5 29.g4 Bd7 30.Bd3 Be8 31.Kf2 Bd7 32.Rb7 Be8 33.Kg3 Re6 34.Kf2 Kf8 35.h3 Rf6 36.Rc7 Re6 37.Rc1 Rf6 38.b4 axb4 39.Rb1 h5 40.Rxb4 hxg4 41.hxg4 Bd7 42.Ke3 Re6+ 43.Kd2 Rf6 44.Be2 Rh6 45.Ra4 Be8 46.Ra7 Rf6 47.Ke3 Re6+ 48.Kf2 Rf6 49.Bd3 Rh6 50.Rb7 Re6 51.Rc7 Rh6 52.Kg3 Re6 53.Rb7 Rf6 54.Kf2 Re6 55.Bf1 Rh6 56.Kg3 Rf6 57.Bd3 Re6 58.Bf5 Rd6 59.f4 f6 60.Bd3 Re6 61.Kf3 Rd6 62.Rh7 Bf7 63.Rh6 Ke7 64.Bf5 Be8 65.Rh7+ Kf8 66.Rh8+ Ke7 67.fxg5 fxg5 68.Rg8 Bxb5 69.Rxg5 Be8 70.Kf4 b5 71.Rg7+ Bf7 72.g5 Kf8 73.Rh7 Rb6 74.g6 Bg8


Jakovenko : His bishop on g8 is attacking my rook. So I move it with 75.Ra7 Be6 76.Bc2 Rc6 77.Bd3 b4 78.Ke5 Rb6 79.Bc2 Bg4 80.Kxd5 b3 81.Bb1 Rf6 82.Ra8+ Kg7 83.Rb8 Bd1 84.Rb7+ Kg8 85.Ke5 Rf8 86.Bf5 1–0



Photo from chesspro

Moro lead 2007 Russian Superfinal!

Alexander Morozevich (Moro) is leading the 2007 Russian Championship Superfinals after 7 rounds with 5 1/2 points. He beat Grischuk in the 7th round.

Meanwhile, in the 5th round, Moro beat Konstantin Sakaev (photo below) a Grandmaster from St Petersburg who was having a bad tournaments so far. He now only have 2 1/2 points in 11th place - second last after Artyom Timofeev. You know Sakaev (2634) ,there's reason why singlet were invented. May be you should wear it inside your shirt!!!

a singlet



Moro: Ooohhh..., i just can't sit infront Sakaev...


Moro: now at least you know why you should wear it!


Morozevich,A (2755) - Sakaev,K (2634) [D10]
60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (5), 23.12.2007

Moro who has dominated the game produced a brilliant sacrifiece 49.Rxc6+- bxc6 50.Qe5+ and white penetrated black position and duly won on move 59. 1–0









Tuesday, December 25, 2007

My Chess Lab!


Here (photo above) is where I spend my time doing my chess “thing”. I write chess article (online) in my blog, playing chess games online, watch live games, analyzing chess game with Fritz, going through chess books, magazines, dvd, cd and anything related to chess.

My chess shelves (photo left) . I put my chess things here. Chess books, magazine, chess clock, copied chess article in file.

Not enough space. Here (photo down right) is another shelves were I put my remaining chess books. In the middle is cd and dvd but majority of it is movie and music.


Why I use chess maniacs as my nickname? Here’s one of the reason.

You know, I ‘m the person who didn’t like to waste my time. So when "nature call", I read books and magazines.



Usually I read chess magazine (Chess Life and sometimes Inside Chess). I also read other non chess related books and magazine for e.g Newsweek, Reader Digest and a book like bukan kerana pangkat or the english title The Reluctant Politician by Dr. Ooi Kee Beng . This is a very good book about one local politician the late Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia but I’ll not describe much about it because I know it ....non chess related.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Checkmate or Lost on Time? (Updated 24 December 2007)!

I recall one of my blitz game against “retired” local chess player Julian Navaratnam in National Blitz Championship held at Armcorp Mall ,Petaling Jaya in 12th April 1998 . The tournament were held by the Selangor Chess Association (CAS) in between with the Resorts World Asian Cities Championship held in Genting Highlands from 8-15th April 1998. 12 April 1998 were the rest day for the Asian Cities Championship so many foreign players went to Amcorp Mall to play the blitz events.

FM Zhang Penxiang from China won that events. Among the winners is 2nd. Zan Win Lay (Myanmar), 3rd. FM Wang Rui (China), 4th. Aung Myo Hlaing (Myanmar), 5th. Myint Han (Myanmar),6th. Naing Lim Aung (Myanmar), 7th. Darren Yong (Malaysia), 8th. Law Zhe Kang (Malaysia), 9th. Maung Maung Lwin (Myanmar).......yours truly:) 16th. Hairul Abdul Hamid (Malaysia)!.....source Malay Mail, 17 April 1998

In one of the round, I played black against Julian. He played 1.e4 and I replied with 1…e5 2. Nf3 d6- Philidor Defense. Those days, Philidor Defense (diagram left) have served me well and gave many good result to me especially in blitz. I even beat Lim Yee Weng (now Fide Master) in 1999 Klang Parade blitz tournaments using the same opening. the winner of that events is 1st. Fikrul Saifuddin, 2nd. Julian Navaratnam, 3rd. Ng ee Vern, 4th. Mohd Saprin Sabri and 5th...yours truly.... Hairul Abdul Hamid :) .

However In my game with Julian, i had a very difficult time at the early stage of the game. I carelessly lost a piece in the middle game but manage to get two pawn as a compensation-not enough though. Without doubt, with best play the position is winning for white but in blitz anything can happen! Julian confidently use his extra material to delivered checkmate to my king’s but I stubbornly defense and “steal” time to slow and steady promote my passed pawn on the queen side.

Suddenly Julian found that his checkmate is going nowhere whereas my passed pawn on the queen side is unstoppable! In a terrible time trouble I managed to promote my passed pawn and take turn to checkmate Julian
.

Julian knows he will lose the game and starts pressing the clock without releasing his hand from the button . This made me a little bit angry because with analog clock I can’t press the button if my opponent didn’t release his hand from the clock button’s.

Just a split second before I delivered the final move (checkmate!) my flag drop and Julian stop the clock and claim I lost on time. I disagree because the position is checkmate. We later decided to call the arbiter to settle the argument. The arbiter listen to our claims and decided that I won the game because the final position is checkmate. Julian professionally accept the decision.Julian professionally accept the desicions.


Recently I found an article from famous arbiter Geurt Gijssen (photo down left) in chesscafe.com regarding the rules.

Question Dear Mr. Gijssen, I have two questions for you.

1) In a 5-minute game, Player A made his move, but did not even have time to press his clock before Player B delivered a checkmate. Thereafter, Player A realized that Player B had overstepped the time limit at least one move before the checkmate. Player A claimed a win on time, while Player B claimed a win on checkmate. Who is correct in your opinion?

Answer 1) I refer to Article B7 of the Rapid Rules, which also apply for Blitz games:

The flag is considered to have fallen when a player has made a valid claim to that effect. The arbiter shall refrain from signaling a flag fall.

The question is: is the claim valid after the flag has fallen? The answer is: No. As you can see, the arbiter should not intervene when a player oversteps the time. This means that the game continues, even after a flag fall. Therefore, the game finished the moment Player B checkmated Player A’s king.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Katrina Kaif Chess Champion!


This morning while having my capati for breakfast , I glanced trough the newspaper (Mingguan Malaysia) and found an interesting article in the entertainment section. The title “Katrina Kaif Juara Catur” or Katrina Kaif Chess Champion.

Katrina (photo left) played with other actors such as Saif Ali Khan (photo right) and Akshaye Khanna (photo down) during rest hour of the movie Race.

Though she knew a few of the moves, she reportedly learnt the game in detail from Akshaye.
And within days, she acquired a good command over chess. She would even dare to play the gambit or camouflage her attack while playing with Akshaye, who in turn was pretty impressed by Katrina’s grasp over chess.

Back to my house I search for some info about this Bollywood actress. Here are the findings:-

Katrina Kaif (born July 16, 1984) is a model and Bollywood actress.

One of 8 siblings, Katrina was born on July 16, 1984, in Hong Kong to British parents, her father being of Kashmiri origin. She grew up in Hawaii and then moved to London.

At the age of 14, Kaif started modeling for a jewelry campaign in London, and was subsequently discovered by filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom. She moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were at first hesitant to sign her because of her linguistic shortcomings, such as her inability to speak Hindi[5]. Films that did feature her usually had her voice dubbed over by a native speaker of the film's language. This changed with the film, Namastey London,along side Akshay Kumar & later Apne, in which she dubbed her own lines.

Source : wikipedia

Saturday, December 22, 2007

I'm Addicted To Blog!!!

Not really a chess topic but this is what i found about my blog addiction!
78%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Want to be a x-ray technician?



All blogger should try it!

Watch This Girl: WIM Irene Kharisma Sukandar

Indonesia have a new young hot shot -15 years old WIM Irene Kharisma Sukandar (photo left from IndoChess). In the recent 4th Singapore Masters Open International Tournament 2007, she finished 19th place although she was seeded 27th. She drew against IM Mashafizul , IM Jayson Gonsalez, WFM Liu Yang, and beat FM Lim Yee Weng and WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An.

Friday, December 21, 2007

IM Mas Hafizul vs IM Oliver Dimakiling 0-1




Analysis by Hairulov and Fritz

IM Mas Hafizulhilmi (2372) - IM Oliver Dimakiling (2491) [C68]
4th Singapore Masters (9), 21.12.2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation 4...dxc6 is almost always played at the master level. Black has the bishop pair but a worse pawn structure, due to his doubled pawns on c6 and c7 5.0–0 White cannot capture the e5 pawn with 5.Nxe5 because of 5...Qd4, forking the knight and the pawn, thus regaining the material.5...Qd6 6.Na3 Be6 7.Qe2 f6 8.Nc4 Qd7 9.Rd1 0–0–0 10.d4 g5 11.Be3 g4 12.Nh4 [12.dxe5?? will be a serious mistake because 12...Bxc4! 13.Qxc4 Qxd1+ 14.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 15.Qf1 Rxf1+ 16.Kxf1 gxf3] 12...Bh6? [12...Qf7 13.b3 exd4 14.Bxd4=] 13.c3 [13.Nf5! was suggest by my "friend" Fritz 13...Bxc4 (13...Bxf5 14.dxe5 Qe8 15.Rxd8+ Qxd8; 13...Bxe3 14.Ncxe3) 14.Qxc4 Bxe3 15.Nxe3 exd4 16.Nf5+-] 13...g3 Black try to create weakness in whit kingside. 14.hxg3 Bxc4 15.Qxc4 Bxe3 16.fxe3 Qg4 White have many weak pawn (e4,e3 and g3) for his sacrifice pawn. 17.Nf5 h5 18.d5 Mas must attack quickly if not black will create a dangerous open h file with h4-hxg3 18...Nh6 19.Ne7+ Kb8 20.Qb3 Qxe4?! [20...Qxg3 is probably better because it directly open line for attack against white king. 21.dxc6 (21.Nxc6+? Ka8 22.Nxd8 Rxd8 23.Qc2 Ng4 black will have a winning attack!) 21...b5 22.Rxd8+ Rxd8 23.Rd1 Qxe3+ 24.Kf1] 21.c4 Mas probably saw that [21.Nxc6+ Kc8 22.Nxd8 Qxe3+ 23.Kh1 Ng4 24.Re1 Qxg3 25.Qxb7+ Kxd8 26.Kg1 Qf2+ 27.Kh1 Qh4+ 28.Kg1 Qf2+ 29.Kh1 Qh4+ 30.Kg1 Qf2+ only lead to draw.] 21...c5? a mistake [21...Ka7!? deserves consideration 22.dxc6 bxc6= Black can use the rook to defend the his king in the queenside.] 22.Nc6+± Ka8 23.Nxd8 Rxd8 24.Qd3 Qg4 25.e4 Mas defend his weakness spot on g3and avoid Nf5 25...h4 26.Qf3 Qg5 27.Rd3 [Mas should have played the stronger 27.gxh4! Qxh4 28.Qh3 Qg5± 29.Rd3 Rg8 30.Rf1 and black has no serious attack] 27...hxg3 28.Qxg3 Ng4 29.Rf1 [29.Rad1!? is an interesting alternative 29...Rh8 30.d6] 29...Rh8‚ black has a strong counter attack 30.a3?! This move look slow. Probably Mas should create counter attack with [30.d6!?] 30...Rh4 31.Re1 Qh5 Black has a mate threat 32.Kf1 f5 33.exf5 e4 34.Rc3 [34.Rxe4?? taking the pawn will bring White grief 34...Qxf5+ 35.Rf4 Rh1+ 36.Ke2 Qe5+ 37.Kf3 Nh2+ 38.Qxh2 Rxh2–+] 34...e3 [34...Rh1+!? should not be overlooked 35.Ke2 Nh2+ 36.Kf2 (36.Kd2 Nf1+ 37.Rxf1 Rxf1) 36...Ng4+ 37.Ke2 Nh2+ 38.Kf2 Qxf5+ 39.Ke2 Nf1 40.Qxc7 Rg1÷] 35.Ke2± White king safety dropped [35.Qxc7?? is impossible because of the following mate in 4 35...Qxf5+ 36.Qf4 Qxf4+ 37.Ke2 Qf2+ 38.Kd1 Qd2#] 35...Nf6+? [35...Nh6+!? 36.Qf3 Rg4 37.Rxe3 Nxf5²] 36.Qf3+- [36.Kxe3?! Rg4 37.Qf3 Qg5+ 38.Ke2 Rxg2+ 39.Kf1 Rg1+ 40.Ke2 Rg2+ 41.Kf1 Rg4=] 36...Rg4? [36...Qg5 37.Kd1 Ne4 38.Rcxe3 Rf4±] 37.Rxe3 Qg5 38.b3 Rxg2+ 39.Kd3 [39.Kd1+- would have made live much easier for White] 39...Nh5 40.Kc3?? A blunder by Mas. He lets the points slip away. [40.b4 To make more room for his king was a good chance to save the game 40...Nf4+ 41.Kc3 Qg7+ 42.f6 Qxf6+ 43.Re5=] 40...Qf6+–+ 41.Re5™ [41.Kd3?? Qd4#] 41...Rg3 Mas have to sac his queen. 42.Qxg3 [42.Qd3 cannot change what is in store for ? 42...Rxd3+ 43.Kxd3 Ng7–+] 42...Nxg3 It's over 43.b4 b6 44.Kb3 Nxf5 45.bxc5 Nd4+ 46.Ka4 bxc5 47.Re8+ Ka7 48.R1e7 Qb6 49.d6 Qb3+ [49...Qb3+ 50.Ka5 Qxa3#] 0–1

Zurab Azmaiparashivili Win 4th Singapore Masters International Open Tournament 2007


Zurab Azmaiparashivili (photo right) win 4th Singapore Masters International Open Tournament 2007 . He drew his last game against Singaporean GM Zhang Zhong and they both finished with same points (7 points) but Azmaiparashivili have the better tie break. Two of Malaysia representative have a disappointing result. IM Mas Hafizul finished 21st place with 4.5 points after losing his last round games against Philipino IM Oliver Dimakiling . FM Lim Yee Weng finished 25th with 4 points after winning his last game against Singaporean FM Dominic Lo.

Justin Ong Win the 4th Singapore Challengers Open International Tournament 2007!



When did you ever heard a Malaysian won an international chess event? In my previous post I concentrate on Malaysia players- IM Mashafizul Helmi and FM Lim Yee Weng performance in the Masters Open of the 4th Singapore International Chess Convention 2007 without realizing that there are others Malaysian participate in a lesser group category - the Challenger Section! Today I was really shock ( a good shock indeed) when I found that Malaysian Justin Ong photo right (seeded 64th!!!) won the Challenger category with a full point clear then the nearest rival Indonesian Kaisar Jenius Hakiki. He won the category ahead of many title and top seeded players such as FM Rian Kapriaga (Indonesia), FM Jonathan Wong Shern Yang (Singapore) and 3 WFM . Other Malaysian- Mohd Izz uddin also made a good performance by finishing 8th . The rest of Malaysia contingent Low Jun Jian, Nicholas Chong, N .Renitha and Wong Hao ( I think not related with China Super GM Wang Hao :) finished on 35th, 30th, 72nd and 60th respectively.

Although the main highlights of the tournaments is on the Master Open category but the Malaysian players on the Challenger Section lead by Justin Ong and co has “outshine” the Malaysian in Open section. Bravo Justin. You have made Malaysian proud!